Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

Lottery bosses turned to Condition Security Agency to investigate leaks

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Previous Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda questioned the Point out Security Agency (SSA) in December 2018 to investigate the leaking of documents that exposed lottery corruption.
The NLC’s corporation secretary at some time mentioned media reviews she stated had been based upon “stolen” facts in an affidavit for your SSA.
The SSA did look into. It observed the knowledge wasn't a subject of state protection and that the “prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities” gave “sufficient motive” for your media to reveal it.
A fresh board and administration has considering that taken over the NLC and To date have taken steps to finish corruption on the establishment.
A Condition Stability Company (SSA) investigation discovered that the “prevalence” of alleged corruption and irregularities involving the NLC and its beneficiaries “presented sufficient motive” for exposure because of the media.

The probe into intended “facts stability breaches and sabotage of NLC functions” was undertaken right after then-NLC board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda wrote on the SSA in December 2018 requesting it to research.

Here's

Nevhutanda’s letter,
an affidavit by now suspended NLC enterprise secretary Nompumelelo Nene supporting the request, and
the safety agency’s “private” results and recommendations.
Nevhutanda requested the SSA to investigate the job of NLC personnel within the alleged leaking of knowledge, and Nene, in her affidavit identified distinct media and experiences that she claimed concerned these leaks.

From the letter outlining its findings, the SSA informed the NLC that when guarding state data was “a authorized very important aimed at guarding the sovereignty and integrity from the state” this only placed on correctly categorised facts.

Even though it did not say so directly, the SSA conclusions implied the allegedly leaked details didn't slide into this category.

Significantly, the SSA built it crystal clear that the need to guard state information and facts “isn't going to prevent any particular person from blowing the whistle on corruption or irregular or illegal activity”.

The SSA investigation located which the NLC info involved with the alleged breach was “delicate and privileged in mother nature, although not classified with regards to the prescripts with the Minimum amount Information Security Requirements (Skip)”.

“The leakage in the pertinent sensitive Formal NLC facts to your media won't pose a risk to countrywide security,” the SSA explained, introducing which the influence with the breaches was reputational.

The SSA report observed “no evidence of the factual and incriminating nature from any of your suspected NLC workers which could be identified from the information and data interrogated”.

What's more, it said that “the prevalence of alleged corruption and irregularities throughout the NLC and at its beneficiaries does offer enough motive to obtain this sort of uncovered inside the media”.

Conspiracy statements
In 2020, Nevhutanda instructed MPs all through a session of Parliament’s trade, industry and Opposition portfolio committee that there was “a conspiracy” during which details “stolen” in the NLC was despatched to your US, the place he claimed it was staying offered to fund a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the NLC.

He was repeating similar statements he experienced previously designed in Parliament, which integrated advertisement hominem assaults on GroundUp which reporter but was cautious not to name both.

“I arrived in this article Within this August property very last calendar year and reported to honourable members that details about our beneficiaries has become stolen and place in one state in America,” he told MPs.

“We called on the Point out Protection Agency to return check into the subject due to the fact we are having stories that our details is building income for media platforms and journalists,” he stated. “There was speak, certainly from a single supply, one media, that spoke Considerably about proactive-funding,” Nevhutanda reported (referring to GroundUp), but didn't inform MPs that the SSA investigation had been finished Practically a 12 months previously.

Proactive funding was at the center on the looting on the lottery. It aspect-stepped the normal grant procedure. The NLC could itself detect a challenge to fund and appoint a non-gain organisation to oversee it.

Right after Nevhutanda initial explained to Parliament in 2018 that he had questioned the SSA to research the meant breach, the South African Nationwide Editors Discussion board issued a statement indicating that his remarks reflected “an incredibly hazardous Angle in which the media is remaining blamed for your NLC’s inherent challenges”.

“Instead of investigating why hundreds of thousands can't be accounted for, the NLC has in its place made an effort to Forged question over the integrity of your journalists associated and it has requested the SSA to investigate their sources.”

Proactive jobs built top secret
Protection flaws recognized within the NLC grant funding system during the SSA’s investigation, show up to have already been utilized being an justification with the NLC to eliminate all proactive-funded assignments from its central grants system.

“In or about 21 December 2019, the classification of all pro-actively funding initiatives was heightened to ‘secret’ and assignments were being faraway from the grant funding system and preserved manually under the custody of [Tsietsi Maselwa] the NLC’s [then] Deputy Facts Place of work, Govt Supervisor Legal so as to safeguard [the] info,” Nene claimed in her affidavit.

“There was a lot of inner discussion, with a great deal of forwards and backwards, about how to proceed to plug the alleged leaks”, a resource, who was inside of a senior position in the NLC at the time, informed GroundUp. “In the end, the choice was taken to eliminate many of the proactive initiatives through the technique and limit usage of A few folks”.

Some in that handful of people were being implicated in corruption.

Maselwa, who resigned through the NLC numerous years in the past, continues to be implicated in corruption involving lottery cash. He obtained R4.three-million from lottery resources allocated to create a library and museum complex in Kuruman (see Taung Cultural Audio and Arts Expo) which he made use of to construct a property within an upmarket gated enhancement in Pretoria. The property is one of a number of paid for with lottery money that were frozen after the Asset Forfeiture Unit attained a preservation get in December 2022.

The politically-related Nevhutanda, who was appointed given that the NLC board chairperson by previous President Jacob Zuma in 2009 and was near to significant-ups within the ANC leadership, previous NLC former Commissioner Thabang Mampane, and ex-chief functioning officer Phillemon Letwaba, have all been implicated during the corruption which confused the NLC on their own check out.

Also implicated are previous board customers William Huma, who resigned after he was confronted with proof of how he had profited from corrupt lottery grants, and Muthuhadini Madzivhandila, who's got considering that died.

Whenever a new administration, such as the whole board and government, took more than with the NLC in late 2022 and early 2023, they found out a “chaotic mess” inside the documentation relating to proactive funding, A great deal of which was paper-based mostly. Essential paperwork ended up lacking. Data files held for safekeeping by document storage corporation Metrofile were signed out and never returned.

The NLC was in a position to recover copies of some หวย documents from its Mimecast e-mail archiving technique and the laptops of their assistants and assistance personnel.

News studies
In his 1 December 2018 letter, tackled to then SSA Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, Nevhutanda wrote: “The NLC has famous with grave problem achievable details safety breaches and also the unauthorised use and/or dissemination of private information and facts received because of carrying out Formal functions in the Commission by NLC workers. The things to do are intended to undermine the integrity of your Commission when disrupting the efficient features [of the NLC] and triggering insurmountable reputational hurt towards the Commission as being the custodian of private info entrusted to it by its beneficiaries.”

His request to the SSA to research was supported within an affidavit by suspended NLC corporation secretary, Nomphumelelo Nene.

Nene is currently dealing with a disciplinary inquiry right after she was unsuccessful in authorized action to put aside results of irregular expenditure on her look at.

The objective of her affidavit, Nene mentioned, was “to document the occasions which transpired relating to information and facts protection breaches on the Countrywide Lotteries Commission”.

She listed several news stories which she claimed had been the effects of these “breaches” (see at the conclusion of this informative article).

Nene claimed that a whistle-blower approached the NLC alleging that among its staff members, Sello Qhino, experienced “supplied her categorized NLC Facts and persistently inspired her to deliver the data to GroundUp”.

Qhino, who blew the whistle with a number of dodgy lottery-funded jobs in Kuruman after tries to lift The problem internally have been dismissed, was subsequently fired.

Referring to an 18 November 2018 article while in the Day-to-day Dispatch in regards to the misappropriation of Lottery money, Nene said the NLC identified after which you can suspended Zintle Rungqu. She was an personnel in the NLC’s East London Business, who was the spouse and the mother of whistleblower Mzukise Makatse’s 3 children.

Rungqu and Makatse feel Rungqu was punished for the reason that Makatse blew the whistle. She was suspended and charged internally, With all the NLC paying out R470,000 on legal professionals to represent it, but was discovered not guilty and permitted to return to operate.

“The popular Think about these articles is that [they contain] categorised facts regarding proactive funding tasks,” Nene stated in her affidavit.

When Runqu was suspended, Makatse moved out of the spouse and children property to take the heat off her and his children. Experiencing homelessness, he moved into an Place of work within an vacant factory belonging to a colleague.

Each Makatse and Qhino are participating in an NLC reparation system intended to recognise the harm a number of people experienced in the fingers on the NLC. Apologies and, occasionally, economical payment are envisioned.

“Some individuals were really affected very negatively by this … This is really distressing,” NLC Commissioner Jodi Scholtz instructed the Day-to-day Maverick previous year.

“I achieved several these folks. It absolutely was just so heart-wrenching that their whole lives happen to be turned the wrong way up,” stated Scholtz.

Between These she fulfilled were Qhino and Makatse.

Risk-free System needed for whistleblowers
The SSA located the absence at some time of a proper channel for whistleblowers to report corruption led them to turn towards the media.

“Failure to have a devoted anti-corruption channel will cause staff members presenting these types of cases beyond the NLC,” the SSA reported in its conclusions.

“Supplied the magnitude of corruption in condition institutions, it remains very important that it makes certain that the NLC complies with all safety prescripts and that its concentration is on guaranteeing that illegal and irregular carry out is adequately mitigated from and by making certain an adequate channel for whistle-blowers to report untoward carry out without staying intimidated.”

It advised which the NLC build a “Protected channel” for workers to provide information on any “untoward activity” that could not prevent or discourage staff from blowing the whistle. A whistle-blowers coverage, based upon the Protected Disclosures Act 25 of 2000, is really a necessity.”

Media reviews Nene detailed
A 10 December 2017 report within the Limpopo Mirror about corruption and maladministration involving the Lottery-funded Vhembe Wellness and Health Centre in Limpopo. GroundUp has worked intently with Anton van Zyl, an investigative reporter and proprietor in the Limpopo Mirror, to expose NLC corruption. “The posting had elements of knowledge not obtainable in the general public domain, thus raising worry on internal Facts security breaches. The allegations from the media were independently investigated,” Nene explained. “Nevertheless, personnel responsible for divulging categorized data have still to be identified”;
A 28 January 2018 post printed with the Dally Dispatch “citing quite a few allegations through the Limpopo Mirror report revealed on 10 December 2017 along with a new allegation relating to a previous worker from the identify of Mzukisi Makatse. He was charged and summarily dismissed for the menace triggered to the organisation.”
A sixteen November 2018 article from the Lowvelder in regards to the misappropriation of NLC resources involving a lottery-funded drug rehabilitation centre. GroundUp has documented how, Despite receiving R27-million in lottery grants, the rehab has never been concluded. “The Lowvelder article contained categorized data concerning NLC policy, raising more worries of inside facts protection breaches,” Nene claimed in her affidavit. “The prima facie evidence with regard to these allegations did not warrant an unbiased Investigation, having said that [it] highlighted the heightened information and facts protection hazards within the NLC.”
A 22 November 2018 GroundUp expose a few dodgy R27.5-million grant to Denzhe Primary Treatment, a hijacked NPO. Nene mentioned GroundUp experienced confirmed in its Tale that it was dependant on leaked NLC paperwork. This was Regardless of the NLC rejecting a PAIA (Promotion of Use of Info) request for aspects in regards to the project, she mentioned